College Football Power Rankings: Top 25 Quarterbacks Heading into Bowl Season

We here at the Quarterback Scramble would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the great signal callers around college football, all those kids who scrapped their way into (and, in some cases, out of) the Heisman Trophy race, for making the 2011 regular season so freakin' entertaining.

And I'm not talking about guys like Andrew Luck, Kellen Moore, Brandon Weeden and Matt Barkley necessarily—the ones we knew would be terrific—though they certainly deserve some praise and, as such, will receive some.

No, I'm referring instead to the surprises of the season, the guys who came out of nowhere and dazzled us with their play—Robert Griffin III, Case Keenum, Chandler Harnish, etc.

When they were on national TV, that is.

The true beauty of college football as a sport is the element of surprise coupled with the thrill of seeing some dude scramble out of trouble and chuck the ball 30 or 40 yards downfield for a score.

Okay, so maybe the parameters aren't THAT strict, but you get what I mean, don't you? The NBA likes to say it's where amazing happens, but that phrase applies much more accurately to Saturdays on the gridiron.

Or Tuesdays and Wednesdays, if you play in the MAC.

Now, all we're left with is a protracted bowl season full of boring matchups, shameless product pushing and, of course, BCS controversy.

But before we all get too wrapped up in who's playing who in the Toilet Bowl presented by Roto Rooter, let's have a look at the quarterback rankings—brief this week, after all the DNPs from Championship Saturday—as we approach the holiday season.

Note to all my die-hard fans who can't live without their weekly Top-25 fix: There will be one more, final edition of the QB Scramble to come after the bowl season, so sit tight.

Who's Out?

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Interestingly enough, Championship Saturday turned out to be a fairly bad day for quarterbacks overall, and not just because there were so few of them playing.

Some of the QB Scramble's own posted unseasonably poor performances during their final games of the regular season, particularly on the biggest stages, under the brightest and the most pressing circumstances.

Like these two.

17. Logan Thomas, Virginia Tech: 22-of-44 for 274 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in a 38-10 loss to Clemson in the ACC Championship Game.

22. Brock Osweiler, Arizona State

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Like Tannehill, Brock Osweiler will be tasked with guiding Arizona State, sans Dennis Erickson, to its seventh win of the season when it takes on (gulp!) Boise State in the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas on December 22.

21. Dominique Davis, East Carolina

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Say "so long" to Dominique Davis, who will be absent from the 2011-12 bowl season on account of East Carolina's 5-7 record and won't return next year on account of having exhausted his collegiate eligibility.

20. Kirk Cousins, Michigan State

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Not going to lie here—Kirk Cousins probably should've been hangin' around the QB Scramble all season. The senior has performed particularly well over the last five games, culminating in a 281-yard, three-touchdown, one-pick performance in Michigan State's 42-39 loss to Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game.

Be sure to check him out one last time in college when the Spartans meet Georgia in the Outback Bowl on January 2.

19. Tajh Boyd, Clemson

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After a month of off-and-on mediocrity, Tajh Boyd and Clemson turned the jets back on to wallop Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship Game, 38-10. Boyd bolstered his case to return to the QB Scramble with 240 yards and three touchdowns passing along with 28 yards and another touchdown rushing in that laugher.

Next up, he and the Tigers will take on West Virginia in the Orange Bowl on January 4.

18. Tyler Tettleton, Ohio

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Tyler Tettleton tanked.

Not only did he tank; he did so with the MAC Championship on the line, throwing three picks and no touchdowns to go along with 218 yards for Ohio. His 51 yards and one touchdown were nice, but were far from enough from keeping Northern Illinois from railing off 23 unanswered points to upend the Bobcats.

Tettleton will look to redeem himself when Ohio meets Utah State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on December 17.

17. Austin Davis, Southern Mississippi

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Lost in the scrum of disappointment following Houston's loss to Southern Miss in the Conference USA Championship Game was the brilliance of Austin Davis. The senior scorched the Cougars for 279 yards, four touchdowns and an interception, along with 47 yards rushing, in the Golden Eagles' 49-28 triumph.

Davis will look to finish his collegiate career on another high note when USM faces Nevada in the Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve.

16. Geno Smith, West Virginia

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Geno Smith must be thanking his lucky stars that West Virginia's success extends far beyond the pocket. Smith mustered just 237 yards with two interceptions last Thursday, though the Mountaineers still managed to edge South Florida, 30-27.

Smith will several weeks to rebound before he takes the field for WVU against Clemson in the Orange Bowl on January 4th.

9. Darron Thomas, Oregon

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Darron Thomas is back in the top 10 of the QB Scramble after torching UCLA's destitute defense for 219 yards, three touchdowns and an interception through the air and another 60 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Next up, Thomas will take the field against Russell Wilson and Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl on January 2.

8. Russell Wilson, Wisconsin

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Russell Wilson was his usual, efficient self in the Big Ten Championship Game. The senior transfer tallied 187 yards and three touchdowns on 17-of-24 passing to lead Wisconsin to a thrilling 42-39 victory over Michigan State.

Look for him to go play-for-play with Oregon's Darron Thomas in the Rose Bowl on January 2.

7. Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State

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Brandon Weeden gets a slight demotion this week, despite the fact that Oklahoma State whooped Oklahoma in the Bedlam Game and claimed the Big 12 title as a result. Weeden contributed just 217 yards on 24-of-36 passing to that effort, though he still played much better than Landry Jones, his Sooners counterpart.

Weeden will have his work cut out for him, at least by comparison, when he matches wits with Andrew Luck and Stanford in the Fiesta Bowl on January 2.

6. Chandler Harnish, Northern Illinois

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Chandler Harnish's steady creep up the QB Scramble this week is as much about pure performance as it is about context.

Harnish threw for 250 yards, three touchdowns and a pick, ran for another 31 yards and, most importantly, led Northern Illinois back from a 20-point, mid-third-quarter deficit to beat Ohio, 23-20, en route to the MAC Championship.

The GODADDY.com Bowl may not be the most glamorous way for Harnish to close out his collegiate career, even if Danica Patrick and Jillian Michaels show up, but at least it'll give football fans a chance to see him in all his splendor one last time.

3. Case Keenum, Houston

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To say that Case Keenum picked a bad time to have his worst performance of the season in the Conference USA Championship Game would be quite an understatement. Keenum accounted for 373 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions on 41-67 in the Cougars' shocking 49-28 loss to Southern Miss, thereby costing the team a shot at the BCS and Keenum his candidacy for the Heisman Trophy.

Nonetheless, Keenum and the Cougers will try again for their 12th win of the season against Penn State in the TicketCity Bowl on January 2.

1. Robert Griffin III, Baylor

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In a season crowded with great quarterbacks, Robert Griffin III stands a head above the rest in the QB Scramble. RG3 capped off a regular season that's the stuff of legends by leading Baylor to a 48-24 trouncing of Texas and throwing for 320 yards, two touchdowns and a pick (not to mention 32 yards and two touchdowns rushing).

Once RG3 is done striking the pose, he'll be back on the football field to lead the Bears against Washington in Alamo Bowl on December 29.